32: 3x06-07 "The Debt" & "The Debt II"

Pack your bags and don your fashionable winter cloak, we're going on an adventure on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week Vera, Katie, and Livy travel to the kingdom of Chin for 3x06 "The Debt" and 3x07 "The Debt II." This classic two-parter has a winning combination of lush spectacle, swooning romance, and moral ambiguity. We discuss the elaborate production and costume design, and the debt (har har) to wuxia cinema this storyline wears on its elegant sleeve. And there's plenty of character motivation to pick over as The Rift continues to wreck us: in these eps Xena attains new layers of emotional complexity in the past and in the present, and Gabrielle makes a deliciously human mistake. Plus: the introduction of ~THE GREAT BORIAS~, who is and will always be a problem, little bitch Ming T'ien and his love of antiquing, and Lao Ma, who is a gloriously three-dimensional character with a really awkward bathing routine.

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31: 3x04-05 "The Deliverer" & "Gabrielle's Hope"

Things take a dark turn this week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST. Vera, Katie, and Livy find themselves at a major crossroads with 3x04 “The Deliverer” and 3x05 “Gabrielle’s Hope.” Together they mark the beginning of one of Xena’s most ambitious, dramatic, and polarizing story arcs, one that would ultimately redefine what kinds of stories the show could tell. First we talk about “The Deliverer”’s devious bait-and-switch structure, its epic rematch between Xena and Julius Caesar that takes a backseat in the shocking last act when Chekhov’s blood innocence goes off. We discuss awesome warrior queen Boadicea, BFOTW (or IS he?) Khrafstar, and Gabrielle’s rape, with its profound repercussions for the characters moving forward. Then it’s on to “Gabrielle’s Hope,” where we discuss the episode’s horror film inspirations, its use of problematic mystical pregnancy tropes to tell a story of female agency and choice, and the painful moral dilemma that sets Gabrielle and Xena against each other. *sadly throws coins in jar*

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30: 3x02-03 "Been There, Done That" & "The Dirty Half-Dozen"

*rooster crows* This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, Vera, Katie, and Livy are experiencing some serious déjà vu (with a side of subtext) in 3x02 “Been There, Done That.” *rooster crows* This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, Vera, Katie, and Livy are experiencing some serious déjà vu (with a side of subtext) in 3x02 “Been There, Done That.” *rooster crows*  This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, Vera, Katie, and Livy are experiencing some serious déjà vu (with a side of subtext) in 3x02 “Been There, Done That.” Then it’s on to 3x03 “The Dirty Half-Dozen,” or should that be “The Dirty Six?” Personally we’d rather watch “The Dirty Two.” We talk nature vs. nurture, the battle of the sexes, and Gabrielle’s fabulous new lewk. *rooster crows*

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29: 3x01 "The Furies"

This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, why I oughta…!!! Revenge tragedy meets the Three Stooges in 3x01 “The Furies.” Vera, Katie, and Livy discuss this polarizing episode’s eccentric depiction of madness through slapstick comedy, heartbreaking callbacks, and too much hairspray. Plus: Xena calls Ares ‘Daddy’ and it makes us feel weird for so many reasons, but it’s really motherhood that takes center stage as Cyrene (LOVE U) continues to be one of the fiercest, most nuanced TV moms around. Why is motherhood so important all of a sudden? Hmm...Put a pin in it!

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28: 2x21-22 "Lost Mariner" & "A Comedy of Eros"

This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, love is in the air -- and so is Xena, flipping like she’s never flipped before. Vera, Katie, and Livy are flipping, too, because this is the final podcast for Season 2! First we take to the high seas with 2x21 “Lost Mariner,” which, with its nautical setting and dashing hero, plays like a much-needed do-over of the worst episode ever, “Ulysses.” We discuss sexy Cecrops’ moral complexity, Gabrielle’s unfortunate love of calamari, and Xena’s flip to end all flips. Then it’s on to the unconventional finale, 2x22 “A Comedy of Eros.” We talk about this sex farce’s hetero agenda, fruit-based innuendoes, Draco as a romantic lead and object of the female gaze, and Joxer, the mighty tragic third wheel. So long, Season 2!

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